BJP Candidates List 2015

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Candidates List

As the battle for Bihar heats up, the BJP has announced list of 153 candidates for next month’s assembly elections.

While announcing the list, senior party leaders stressed that more than half the candidates were youth and women and 60 per cent were from the SC and backward castes — but there is more to the list than meets the eye.

An analysis of the list reveals that the party is not taking any chances when it comes to caste. In fact, as many as 17 castes may have found a place in the first list. This puts into question the theory that BJP president Amit Shah’s strategy to wrest Bihar from former ally Nitish Kumar is dependent on upper-caste consolidation.

The caste cauldron in Bihar is the most complex amongst all states, arguably even more than neighboring Uttar Pradesh. The BJP, therefore, is taking no chances – as seen in its fielding of five Yadav candidates in the first list. Will a section of the significant Yadav vote be weaned away from Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD? Amit Shah will surely be banking on that.

Meanwhile, 26 sitting MLAs are part of the list, while three sitting BJP legislators have been denied party tickets. One of the disgruntled trio, Aman Paswan, has already contacted the JD(U). Besides dealing with party members unhappy with ticket allocation, the BJP will also have to assuage the feelings of its allies, LJP, RLSP and HAM, who may be unhappy at their share of seats. Overall, though, caste remains central to Bihar’s politics and the BJP’s first list of candidates is a tacit acknowledgment of that.

List of BJP Candidates 2015 for Bihar Elections

Select Your Constituency to Know contesting candidate name

BJP Manifesto or Vision Document for Bihar

The BJP’s manifesto or vision document for Bihar 2015 tries to balance the promise of development with giveaways to several sections of society. These are some of its highlights:

• Colour TV set for every Dalit and Mahadalit family
• Laptops for 50,000 meritorious students in Class 10 and 12
• 5,000 Scootys for girls who perform well in Class 10 and 12
• Five decimal land for every landless household
• A home for every family by 2022
• Dhoti and a saree to every poor family
• Ensure at least one person per family is e-literate
• Make toilet mandatory in order to get government loans
• 24X7 power supply in all parts of the state, including rural areas, by December 2016
• There would be two power feeder supplies, one for domestic purposes and the second for farming  
• Metalled roads to connect every village
• A separate budget for agriculture
• Setting up of Atal Medicine Centres that will provide medicines at a discount
• Village councils that encourage education for every girl child above age six to be rewarded
• Cheaper loans for technical and professional education of women  
• Interest-free loans to farmers if the loans are taken for agricultural purposes

The CM Candidates of BJP

The BJP-led NDA alliance has entered the Bihar assembly elections without announcing its chief ministerial candidate. BJP strategists are aware that in terms of personal popularity no Bihari politician can match outgoing chief minister and JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar.

Thus any move on the part of the BJP to make it a face-off between Nitish and a state BJP leader will invariably work in the former’s favour. That’s why the BJP’s face in the Bihar polls is prime minister Narendra Modi, the undisputed party leader whose personal popularity continues to remain high after he led his party to a famous victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Of course, if the NDA wins the Bihar polls, the urgent search for a CM will be accompanied by multiple party meetings, selective leaks to the media and high drama — in the best traditions of Indian democracy!

So who are the BJP leaders in the reckoning for the top job? Let’s take a quick look.

Sushil Kumar Modi: Widely regarded as a frontrunner for the CM’s post, Nitish’s former deputy and lifelong RSS member Sushil Kumar Modi is from the Bania caste. If there is anything that doesn’t work for him, it is this — he is from a caste that doesn’t have a major role to play in Bihar’s delicate electoral caste calculations.

Ravi Shankar Prasad: The union communications minister is considered capable, and has a good equation with both prime minister Modi and the RSS. The question is: is he considered too much of a Delhi person?

Rajiv Pratap Rudy: Another high-profile leader who is considered to be CM material. But his support base within the Bihar BJP may be limited.

Nand Kishore Yadav: One of the most important Yadav politicians in the Bihar BJP, the five-time MLA has been a minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet. If for some reason, caste rules out Sushil Modi, the BJP leadership could look at Nand Kishore as Plan B.

Radha Mohan Singh: The union agriculture minister is not a frontrunner, but may fancy his chances as a potential CM. It helps that he has a good equation with prime minister Modi and was head of the state BJP.

Prem Kumar: The extremely backward caste leader has been an NDA minister, but his overall acceptance within the Bihar BJP may be limited. Prem Kumar has virtually indicated his suitability for the top job.